Watch Bob Weir Reveal How Success Spoiled The Grateful Dead

Success in the entertainment industry often entails self-indulgence, arrogance, and, in essence, a separation from the general reality of the world. The music industry has seen a plethora of bands and artists succumb to the pitfalls of success in some way, shape, or form. However, there are a handful of musicians who stayed authentic and humble for the entirety of their careers. One band that was and still is a prime example of staying true to yourself in the face of success is The Grateful Dead.

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The Grateful Dead are unarguably one of the most iconic and successful rock bands of all time. Not only do they have the most loyal fan base of all time, but during their height, they were ahead of their time, given that they prioritized live recordings over studio recordings. Despite all of this success, they never changed, and this hilarious video of Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia shows just that. If you didn’t like The Grateful Dead before, you will surely like them after you watch this video.

Bob Weir’s Unserious Response to a Serious Question

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Has success spoiled the Dead?

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The Grateful Dead was one of the many bands that helped popularize the counterculture and the flower power movement of the 60s. Thus, everything about their ambiance and aesthetic articulated a sense of contagious casualness that never came across as pretentious or snotty. That being said, when a reporter asked Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir a serious question, they gave an expected unserious response.

In an interview from their heyday, per their TikTok account, a reporter asked Weir and Garcia, “Has success spoiled the Dead?” Subsequently, Jerry Garcia smiled, laughed, and simply said, “Yeah.” However, that isn’t the answer that has people laughing to this day. Rather, it was Bob Weir’s.

Following Garcia’s reply, Weir stated, “I was noticing the other night, for instance, that when I’m going through pistachios, opening pistachios, that the hard-to-open ones, I don’t bother with them anymore. Who’s got time?”

Evidently, Weir was poking fun at the reporters question. Though subtextually, Weir’s response shows that success hadn’t nor ever did spoil The Grateful Dead. The Dead were so successful that they could have made any decision they wanted regarding their career. They always sided with their fans and stayed true to the character and nature that made them one of the most iconic bands of all time. There truly is no other band like The Grateful Dead.

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